Jan Brewer Has Vetoed Arizona's Anti-Gay Bill

Arizona governor Jan Brewer has finally broken her silence on SB 1062, her state's controversial bill that would allow businesses to deny service to people for religious reasons.

"I call them like I see them, despite the cheers and the boos from the crowd," Brewer said in an address to the press. She said the bill did not specifically address a religious freedom issue, and thus: "I have vetoed Senate Bill 1062 moments ago."

And so it was tweeted:

Both the state's Senate and House of Representatives passed the bill, leaving it to Brewer to either sign it into law or veto it. Several people and organizations have urged her to do the latter, including three state senators who voted for it in the first place, both of the Republican United States senators (and one of those senator's family members), a former Republican presidential candidate, the NFL and the MLB.

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Brewer had kept quiet about her plans for the bill until tonight. While initially it appeared likely that she would sign it, as it came to national attention and public outcry increased, sources told NBC News that the veto was likely.

The bill was introduced in response to a lawsuit against a wedding photographer who refused to photograph a same-sex wedding. Today, Texas became the latest state to have its same-sex marriage ban struck down by a federal court. Arizona does not allow same-sex marriage, but several same-sex couples sued the state last month to challenge that.

Update, 8:02 p.m.: Sen. John McCain responded to Brewer's veto with a statement:

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/national/2014/02/jan-brewer-has-vetoed-arizonas-anti-gay-bill/358577/

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